Category Archives: Arkansas

When we talk about the effects of same-sex marriage, we always come back to our two highest values–faith and family. It seems so obvious that the destruction of traditional marriage is yet another blow to the black family, with untold harm for our children. And yet, there are some who still don’t understand the importance of this issue. ~CAAP

Even those who can't make it to Washington D.C. on April 25th will be supporting the March for Marriage from thousands of miles away!

For those in Arkansas who can’t make it to the DC March, you can visit the event’s Facebook page here and check out out CAAP’s website for more information on their work. As demonstrated in the video below, CAAP shows their amazing support for the true definition of marriage every day!

This week, the citizens of Fayetteville, AR voted to repeal a "civil rights" ordinance that had raised concerns about wedding vendors and others being targeted for harassment and punishment for declining to celebrate same-sex 'marriages,' among other worries.

Among other things, the law [Ordinance 119] made it a crime for citizens to engage in what the government deemed to be “discrimination” based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Concerns were raised about wedding vendors and “discrimination” based on sexual orientation, as well as bathroom policies and “discrimination” based on gender identity (particularly transgender individuals—which bathrooms must biological males who identify as women, and biological females who identify as men, be allowed to use).

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Policy should prohibit the government from discriminating against any individual or group, whether nonprofit or for-profit, based on their beliefs that marriage is the union of a man and woman or that sexual relations are reserved for marriage. The government should be prohibited from discriminating against such groups or individuals in tax policy, employment, licensing, accreditation or contracting.

And so, on Tuesday of this week, the citizens of Fayetteville rightly acted and voted to repeal Ordinance 119.

Anderson points out that this case highlights why laws such as the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, sponsored by Representative Raul Labrador of Idaho, are needed to protect citizens against such overreach by government pushing radical agendas with regard to marriage and family.

"In red states and blue, candidates who supported marriage as the union of one man and one woman won election and those who didn't were rejected by voters. The Republican Party should take note that their nominees who favored gay 'marriage' were opposed by NOM and they were resoundingly defeated." —Brian Brown, President, NOM—

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today said that their efforts to support candidates who supported traditional marriage and oppose those who favored gay 'marriage' were overwhelmingly effective and played a pivotal role in the Republicans capturing control of the United States Senate. NOM won all the races in which they were engaged.

"Marriage won an overwhelming victory last night," said Brian Brown, president of NOM. "In red states and blue, candidates who supported marriage as the union of one man and one woman won election and those who didn't were rejected by voters. The Republican Party should take note that their nominees who favored gay 'marriage' were opposed by NOM and they were resoundingly defeated."

A major storyline emerging from the election was the rejection of Republican candidates who abandoned marriage and instead supported redefining marriage. NOM actively opposed Richard Tisei (MA6), Carl DeMaio (CA52) and Monica Wehby, the GOP candidate for US Senate in Oregon. Tisei and Wehby were defeated, and the outcome of the CA52 contest was too close to call on election night.

"It's time for the GOP elite and consultant class to wake up and realize that marriage is a winning issue, in red states and blue," Brown said. "Traditional marriage amendments have received 50 million votes across America, and candidates who embraced marriage this election won, while Republicans who rejected marriage were themselves rejected. The election results tonight were a stunning rebuke of those who wish to redefine marriage. We look forward to working with Congress to advance the cause of marriage."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected], or Matille Thebolt, [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

"Tom Cotton will fight for marriage while Mark Pryor cannot be trusted. We urge Arkansas voters who believe in marriage as the union of one man and one woman to cast their votes for Tom Cotton." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage Victory Fund has launched a television commercial in Arkansas revealing that US Senator Mark Pryor's claimed support for traditional marriage cannot be trusted in light of his obvious attempts to avoid answering questions about his current position, and the statements of a lesbian leader that Pryor told her he was not opposed to same-sex marriage. The ad is running statewide.

"For years Senator Mark Pryor has claimed to support traditional marriage, but his commitment to fight for marriage has been seriously undermined by his refusal to answer questions about his current position in light of a court decision finding the Arkansas marriage amendment unconstitutional," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Of even greater concern are comments by a prominent lesbian leader who says Pryor has told her he does not oppose gay marriage, but just can't talk about the issue right now. This powerful new ad exposes Pryor for this duplicity."

When confronted by a reporter asking him about the decision of the Arkansas Supreme court to overturn their amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, an obviously anxious Pryor said he had to leave, and then told the reporter that since the matter is in the courts, "we'll see what happens." Meanwhile, prominent gay activist Bailey Bibb, head of the state's Stonewall Democrats, told an undercover reporter that Pryor explained to her, "It's not something we can talk about. I'm not against it."

"Marriage is a critical issue for Arkansans and could prove to be the decisive issue in this race," Brown said. "Tom Cotton will fight for marriage while Mark Pryor cannot be trusted. We urge Arkansas voters who believe in marriage as the union of one man and one woman to cast their votes for Tom Cotton."

In 1831, a French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in America and spent several years traveling and studying life in the communities of the new nation...

Tocqueville wrote, “There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America.”

And he wrote, “Of the world’s countries, America is surely the one where the bond of marriage is most respected, and where they have conceived the highest and most just idea of conjugal happiness.”

As we know, today times are changing. Religion and the institutions of traditional marriage and family are being challenged and, rather than being seen as enablers of our freedom, are now regularly portrayed as obstacles to it.

Since same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts 10 years ago, it has become legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia and is now recognized by the federal government.

The onslaught continues where laws protecting traditional marriage in many states are being overturned by courts and lawsuits are now pending in 30 states.

Even the Bible Belt has been penetrated, and recently, a judge in Arkansas struck down state law protecting traditional marriage...

However, despite the argument that “gay rights” is today’s signature civil rights battle as racial equality was the civil rights battle of the 1960’s, blacks are generally not buying it.

According to the Pew survey, support for legal same sex marriage among black Protestants at 43 percent indicates that support has increased in this community, but remains far below the national average.

A coalition of 100 black pastors in Michigan now stands in vehement opposition to a federal district court ruling in March overturning a voter-approved measure which amended the Michigan constitution in 2004 to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

The pastors, along with other Christian groups, are filing an amicus brief in support of the appeal of the court decision by Michigan attorney general Bill Schuette.

Blacks, on average, attend church with greater frequency than any other ethnic group in the country. And blacks take Scripture seriously.

It is a no-brainer for many church-going blacks that discrimination because of race is very different from choices in sexual behavior.

Only 32 percent of Republicans, according to Pew, support same-sex marriage legalization. This issue, along with abortion, is not going away as a source of tension in the Republican Party.

Black pastors know first hand how moral relativism destroys communities. They are not about to buy into it.

Nor are Christian evangelicals who represent a meaningful portion of the Republican Party.

Although most blacks and Christian evangelicals have probably not read the words of Tocqueville, they appreciate the truths that he identified in 1835 about the importance of religious values to American freedom.

Please contact Governor Mike Beebe and your State Representative and Senator today and urge them to call for a special session of the Arkansas legislature in order to impeach Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza. Simply follow this link to send the message.

Late last Friday, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza issued an outrageous ruling invalidating the Arkansas marriage amendment that defines marriage as one man, one woman and substituted his personal opinions for those of the people of Arkansas and their elected officials.

As former Governor Mike Huckabee has said, Piazza apparently sees himself as some sort of "super-legislator" who can decide important matters by judicial decree. We say it's time to hold Judge Piazza accountable — by impeaching him.

We agree with former Governor Huckabee that Judge Piazza has decided that he is "singularly more powerful than the 135 elected legislators of the state, the elected Governor, and 75 percent of the voters of the state. Apparently he mistook his black robe for a cape and declared himself to be 'SUPER LAWMAKER.'"

We cannot allow a rogue judge to take the law into his own hands and decide that marriage — an institution designed by God that has served society well since long before Arkansas was a state — should suddenly be reinvented. The people of Arkansas are perfectly able to decide this issue for themselves, and they did so a decade ago when over 75 percent of voters put the definition of marriage into the state constitution. If someone thinks that Arkansans want same-sex 'marriage' then let them put the issue on the ballot for the people to decide.

Let's send a message that enough is enough. Piazza, an activist judge if there ever was one, probably thinks that he's beyond the reach of voters because nobody filed to run against him for reelection and it's too late for someone to do so now. But no man is above the law and it's up to Governor Mike Beebe to call a special legislative session so that lawmakers can impeach Piazza and remove him from office.

Please send a message to the Governor and your legislators right now urging them to take this action. Arkansas voters deserve justices who will respect the will of the people and not single-handedly impose their opinions on the entire state.

Arkansas voters passed the Arkansas Marriage Amendment, which protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman, by a margin of 75% to 25% in 2004. Now, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has again rejected ballot language for a proposed initiative that would REPEAL the amendment:

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has again rejected a pro-gay marriage group's proposed ballot measure that if approved would repeal the state's marriage amendment.

McDaniel decided Monday that Arkansans for Equality's proposed measure to repeal Amendment 83 was problematic over the ballot initiative's language.

"That rejection was due to misleading tendencies in the proposed ballot title and the ballot title's failure to include any mention of the proposal's effect on current law," wrote McDaniel.

..."A pro-homosexual group here in Arkansas conducted a poll about six weeks ago and in their poll, it indicated that the Arkansas Marriage Amendment would still pass," said [director of the Arkansas Family Council, Jerry] Cox.

"Nobody knows what the vote would actually be, because you don't know who's going to actually turn out and vote, but even by their own admission the Arkansas Marriage Amendment would still pass today if it were on the ballot." -Christian Post

The Associated Press reports that hot on the heels of the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s Prop 8 decision, three same-sex couples in Arkansas have filed a federal lawsuit asking that the state’s ban on gay marriage be overturned.

This is in addition to a similar lawsuit that was previously filed in state court, and the story also reveals that the state’s same-sex marriage lobby is working to “get a measure on the 2014 ballot to legalize same-sex marriage.”

NOM will keep you up to date as this story develops and will continue to be on the front lines of these all-important state battles. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to sign-up for our alerts here, and share this information with your like-minded family and friends in Arkansas.